Ruling Against Defense of Marriage Act Is Major Diversity Victory

Diversity and inclusion advocates are celebrating a major legal victory in the civil-rights battle of this century on marriage equality. A Boston federal court determined that portions of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) are unconstitutional, bringing the case to the Supreme Court and the strong possibility that the law will be permanently overturned.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, in a unanimous and bipartisan decision, ruled that the federal law defining legal marriage as only between a man and a woman deprives same-sex couples of the same rights heterosexual couples have when receiving federal benefits, including filing joint federal tax returns. The court did not address the controversial issue of whether states that have not approved same-sex marriages must recognize them.

The momentum on this issue shifted dramatically last month when President Barack Obama finally publicly declared his support of same-sex marriage. To further support that announcement, the Justice Department did not intercede in the Boston decision in favor of DOMA, as it has done in the past. What’s important in the days since Obama’s declaration is the growing support of same-sex marriage in the Black community. The NAACP, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other Black leaders have come out in support of marriage equality… Read More

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